Palmerston safe and healthy

Palmerston has become the first Northern Territory Council to receive a Healthy Community Grant.

Located just 20 kilometres from Darwin and the fastest growing city in the Territory, Council will put the grant towards ongoing support for its Safe Communities Program.

Safe Communities is a community based approach to injury prevention and safety promotion. In March 2008, the World Health Organisation recognised Palmerston as an International Safe Community.

The program comprises the following areas:

  • Alcohol Management Reference Group – promotes responsible consumption of
    alcohol
  • Child Safety Working Group – aims
    to reduce the number of children under 15 needing treatment for injuries
  • ActivateNT/PalmLessTonnes – encourages
    people to make healthy and positive changes
    in their life, eating better and exercising
  • Personal and Social Safety Working Group – improves safety and minimises violence
    and its associated impacts in Palmerston
  • Palmerston Safe Schools – enhances the
    social, cultural, environmental and
    personal wellbeing at all schools
  • Monitoring and Evaluation – provides
    support and guidance on ways to collect
    data and evaluate the effectiveness of the
    Safe Communities network.

Council intends to use the grant to continue to focus on a number of issues in the community, which it believes put the community at high risk, such as chronic disease, alcohol consumption and the high rate of smoking compared with other states.